A VIOLENT thug's Facebook page has been taken down after it was updated while he was behind bars for beating his girlfriend.

The Press found Kyle Illingworth's Facebook profile picture and cover photograph had been changed on December 10 last year - two months after he was sentenced to five years for grievous bodily harm.

Prison Service officials took the page down immediately after we contacted them about the breach.

Prisoners are banned from using social media and mobile phones while serving time and nobody is allowed to update sites on their behalf.

However, the 25-year-old's page was changed twice on the same day, leading one of his friends to post a comment on the picture asking if he had been released early.

York Press:

It is unclear if Illingworth changed the pictures himself or somebody else logged on to his account.

Government guidelines for family and friends state: "You mustn’t update any social networking website (eg Facebook or Twitter) on the prisoner’s behalf.

"You can’t email prisoners directly, but some prisons use a service called Email a Prisoner. If you send a message this way, it’ll be printed out and delivered by prison staff."

Illingworth, a former Lowfield School pupil, from Acomb, was jailed on October 6 last year after carrying out "one of the worst examples" of grievous bodily harm a judge had seen.

Police launched a six-day manhunt after he stamped on his girlfriend's head and punched her in the face at a York house on April 17, 2015.

The drink and drug-fuelled attack, which related to a mobile phone, left her with a broken nose, jaw and eye socket.

He fled the scene soon after the incident, leaving his partner's friend to call 999.

When he realised the police were looking for him, he called the friend and told her "you're next", because he blamed her for police linking him to the crime.

Illingworth has 29 convictions for 42 offences and was jailed for four and a half years in 2010 for stamping on a man's head in King's Street, York.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "This is unacceptable and we had the profile taken down as soon as it was brought to our attention.

"We will investigate how this happened and will be taking action against the offender, which could see him being stripped of his privileges and further punishment.

“Prisoners are banned from using mobile phones and social media. If they break the rules they will be disciplined and can have time added onto their sentence."